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Armor All

Oct 1, 2009

Body armor is always being improved. When I first joined the Army, I was issued a FLAK vest. Then when I deployed to Afghanistan, I received the Interceptor Body Armor vest. Neither was particularly comfortable. They're heavy. They're hot. But after being shown a Kevlar plate with a bullet lodged in it, I didn't think twice about wearing it.

The Cupola Protective Ensemble being used by Military Police Officers in Northern Iraq may be pushing a soldier's complacency a little too far.

Especially in the case of a turret gunner, why the leggings? From the waist down, he or she should be protected by the armored HMMWV. It would be interesting to know exactly how much the entire suit weighs and if it's modular. Maybe the cooling system keeps the top and bottom from being used separately.

If that's the case, QuadGuard body armor, a modular system, may be a more practical approach. http://osu.okstate.edu/news/bodyarmor_istook.htm

No matter the improvements, I really don't think body armor will ever be as comfortable or un-encumbering as a soldier hopes. But that after all is not its purpose. They're meant to save lives and limbs, and that's sometimes hard to remember until it's too late.

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